Linden, Guyana — Tensions escalated further in Linden on Monday night as police reportedly delayed taking the statement of a key eyewitness to the fatal shooting of a protestor, allegedly at the hands of a police officer during demonstrations over the earlier killing of Ronaldo Peters.
Attorney Nigel Hughes, who accompanied the witness, stood outside the Wismar Police Station for more than two hours, waiting for an officer from the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to record the statement. Despite notifying the Regional Commander immediately upon arrival and confirming that the witness was prepared to give a full account of the incident, no officer arrived in a timely manner.
“We have been here for the last hour and a half after notifying the commander that we have an eyewitness who saw the police officer, “Justin KP”, shoot at the public today,” Hughes told the gathered media. “The commander assured me that an officer from the OPR was on the way. An hour and a half later, no one has shown up.”
Hughes accused the police of deliberate delay tactics, suggesting that law enforcement hoped the witness and his legal team would grow weary and abandon their efforts. “We suspect that the police are hoping we get tired and leave,” Hughes said firmly. “But I will be here with this witness for as long as it takes for the police to record the evidence of a crime against one of their own.”
The incident has intensified calls for an independent investigation into both the initial police killing of Ronaldo Peters and the subsequent protestor’s death. Hughes expressed deep skepticism over the credibility of local investigations, referencing previous high-profile cases, including the Henry boys’ murders. He recalled that while international forensic experts had offered their assistance in that case, the government declined and instead relied on the Regional Security System (RSS), which controversially declared the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to be conducting an “excellent investigation.”
“In that case, the RSS sanitized one of the most brutal murders in this country’s history,” Hughes said. “We do not have confidence in the Guyana Police Force, with or without the RSS, to conduct anything resembling an independent investigation.”
Hughes and the Alliance For Change (AFC) leadership have jointly called for the involvement of international investigative bodies, potentially from the United States or the United Kingdom, to ensure a thorough and impartial probe. “The citizens of Linden are being slaughtered in the streets by the police, and nothing has changed,” Hughes declared. “We will not accept any investigation by the Guyana Police Force, with or without the RSS.”
Adding to the pressure, after prolonged public exposure and growing attention at the scene, the police, apparently embarrassed by the situation, dispatched two alternate officers to the station to finally take the witness’s statement, bypassing the initially promised officer.
The situation continues to unfold, as calls for transparency, justice and accountability grow louder in Linden and across the nation.
